NXTians! I’m glad you’re back here – let us not allow Bo Dallas’ title win to bring us down, hey? I mean, ther’s so much other great stuff going on with NXT right now – The Wyatt Family vs Neville, Ohno and Graves, for example, or the Women’s Championship tournament – that there’s still plenty to look forward to. Not to mention how much fun someone like Sami Zayn brings to the show. So, without further ado, let’s see what’s happening down in Florida in…

The NXT Review: 19/06/2013 – The One Where Everyone Wins

There’s a short recap of what we saw in last week’s main event where, you doubtless don’t need to be reminded, Bo Dallas got the big win over Big E Langston courtesy of an unintentional (or was it?) assist from the exposed turnbuckle and then went to Disney World with Kane and they double teamed Minnie Mouse behind the ticket booth. Or something like that, I don’t actually know what happened at Disney World, but I sort of hope Dallas is stuck on Space Mountain.

NXT chants echo around the arena as the show opens before Adrian Neville, wearing new trunks for fans of the sartorial, and he is taking on Bray Wyatt – presumably this is the fallout of the missing segment from last week, where Neville, Ohno and Graves all argued about who was going to get to strike the first blow to the leader of The Wyatt Family. Wyatt is, of course, accompanied by his two big family members, but sadly not by a microphone. Boo! We want Wyatt on the mike now!

Wyatt grins maniacally at Neville from the corner before the match starts, and comes out swinging when the bell rings. He misses the clothesline, though, and Neville takes it to him with kicks to the hamstring. The Man That Gravity Couldn’t Quite Be Bothered With comes off the ropes but is caught by the bigger man with a vicious looking clothesline that nearly takes his head off, and Wyatt gains the advantage, following up with a body slam. Brad Maddox says that The Wyatt Family are a ‘Christmas card’ – how has WWE not realised this guy could do a better job than almost anyone on Main Event, at least, yet? He’s funny, quick witted, and almost perfect as a colour commentator. Wyatt cuts off a small Neville recovery with a slap to the face and chokes him in the ropes. Bray with a big headbutt, taking the Geordie down to the mat, and he follows up with an elbow drop for a two count. Wyatt walks around the ring with a certain cocksure arrogance – here he just pushes Neville with his foot a couple of times – that really gives him an air of having something else. A big blow to the back of the head keeps the high flyer grounded, until Wyatt pulls him up by his hair and throw him to the apron. As he charges in, however, Neville catches him with a kick to the head and charges up top, looking to hit his finish…but no, the two big members of The Wyatt Family interfere, Harper sending Neville off the top turnbuckle for the DQ. The NXT Tag Team Champions beat down on Neville…but who’s this? It’s Ohno! It’s Graves! They’ve made the save with, quote Brad Maddox, an ‘illegal double team’. Harper gets whipped into the steel steps, Rowan gets sent into the turnbuckle, and Wyatt just escapes being assaulted himself. This is carnage.

‘AMEEEEEERRRRRRICAAAAAAAAANNN DREEEEEEEEEAAAAAM’. It’s Dusty Rhodes! He channels his inner Teddy Long and sets a six man tag team main event between the guys in the ring, Daddy! What a main event that’s going to be. I had high hopes for Neville vs Wyatt, and whilst it certainly was good for the bits that we got, it was cut too short to really get going. But as a vehicle for getting the main event sorted out? It was mighty fine.

Angelo Dawkins has very, very by the book funk music. Because black guy in the WWE, I guess. Oh, hi Sami Zayn! You are my favourite! The two lock up and Dawkins forces Zayn back against the ropes. The commentary team put over Zayn’s resilient performance from last week, saying they’d never seen someone fight back the way he did. I guess we’ve got an underdog on our hands, folks! Dawkins pushes Zayn in breaking the hold, and beckons Sami to bring it on, and he does with some quick holds and a wristlock. Dawkins takes the smaller man down, but gets avoided coming off the ropes and Zayn nails some deep armdrags, including one where he spins around the back of his opponent. Zayn charges into the corner but eats a back elbow, and Dawkins uses the advantage to hit a body slam and follows up with a slap to the jaw. A side headlock takedown leads into a rear chinlock that Zayn just can’t fight out of no matter how hard he tries. He finally gets to his feet and hits some blows to the midsection, but Dawkins connects with a knee, driving his opponent back into the corner. Finally, Zayn creates some separation, leaping over Dawkins in the corner and connects with a calf kick. Zayn with the wristlock and a big slap to the chest…he jumps to the top rope and connects with the DDT, all whilst holding the wristlock and that’s it! I need a name for that move. I bet it ends up being called the InZayn or something. Eh, I’ll take it. Unless you have anything different, NXTians – let me know your suggestions in the comments!

A bit different from the normal squash matches NXT do (and all this was really was a glorified, as Dawkins was never likely to take the win) – I suppose with them painting Zayn as the underdog he has to come out of these matches looking like he was on the back foot for a lot of it until he got the convincing win. Still, he looks so damn impressive, even when taking offence, that it doesn’t really matter. I will always enjoy watching him in the ring. Shout out to Angelo Dawson, who was as generic as generic can be and showed absolutely nothing of note. Four for Sami Zayn, you go Sami Zayn! And none for Angelo Dawkins.

Ah, Leo Kruger! A nice little promo airs for his impending return – the guy is creepy, and this promo plays off that. ‘Everything you know is about to change’, according to Kruger himself. I’ve got to say, I’ve kind of missed the big South African since he stopped beating Justin Gabriel on the regular. He certainly has ‘it’, and the creepy kinda-Mankind role suited him really well. Hope he comes back and eviscerates Bo Dallas.

Hey Sasha Banks, you’re about to face the likely finalist because, you know, Paige vs Summr Rae is money and stuff, but let’s go through with this anyway yeah? The First Lady of NXT Summer Rae points to the title on her way out. For the record, Summer Rae’s get it status is ‘can’. And now that I’m done pretending to be Jerry Lawler, let’s get on with the match. The blonde takes it to her smaller opponent in the early stages, throwing her to the mat out of an early tie up and choking her against the ropes, before nailing a dropkick as she rebounds out of the corner and getting a two count. The crowd is chanting for Sasha something fierce in this one – whether that’s just because Summer is too damn good at playing the bitchy heel or because Sasha actually has some support, I’m not sure. Rae smashes Banks head into the turnbuckle before choking her out with a boot and goading the crowd with some choice smack talk. ‘Let’s go Sasha? Where are you now?!’ she shouts, as the support for Banks starts to fade away. Shades of Mark Henry, I believe they call that. The First Lady of NXT throws her opponent across the ring by the air, and then pulls her out of the corner for a two count. With a handful of hair, Rae gets right in the face of Sasha – ‘Sasha wants to play, huh?’ and also, I think ‘look into the face, Sasha, of who’s going to take you down!’. This is quite brilliant, actually, I’m really enjoying it. Rae smashes Banks face first into the mat using a handful of hair, which gets another two count. Rae chokes Banks in the corner with a boot again, this time even lifting her opponent off the mat with her foot. With Banks down, The First Lady of NXT grabs her hands and stretches the shoulder joints, using her long legs to give extra leverage. As the niece of Snoop Lion tries to get out, Rae locks in a pin, but Banks rolls through for a near fall! Banks gets back up and scoops up a charging Rae for a slam, but Summer rolls through and this descends into a cat fight on the mat, both women trading places! Banks with a series of slaps to the chest of her opponent, and she takes the taller blonde down with a Sami Zayn-esque move, holding the arm and scaling the corner before leaping out into an armdrag. Banks looks to drive home the advantage, charging Rae in the corner, but she avoids the move and, with Banks a little disoriented, connects with a reverse DDT that transitioned into a leg drop. Need a name for that one too, as it’s clearly a finisher and gives Rae the three count. Eh, we’ll go with Summer Session, but as with Sami Zayn NXTians, let me know if you have any ideas!

Man, I love Rae’s queen bitch character – she was on form here, really giving it to Banks from the off. To be honest, this was little more than a showcase for her, and whilst Banks got some offence in it wasn’t really enough to show any signs of a recovery. I think it’s a shame that Summer has been reduced to the role of Fandango’s dancer and nothing else (yet) on Raw – she’s extremely talented, and whilst she definitely needs a bit of seasoning in the ring she’s definitely as good as any main roster Diva right now. This wasn’t as good as she was against Paige previously, where she showed her ability to tell a story and use psychology, but it was still pretty tidy.

Ooh, next week it’s Emma vs Aksana – what a delight that will be!

Xavier Woods is backstage, putting over his two victories over El Local in previous episodes of NXT. He says, and this is a direct quote, that the roof is not his son but he will raise it. It’s also not Guy Fawkes, Xavier, but will you set it on fire? He then gets a beep on what seems to be a watch and has to go because it’s morphing time. Riiiight. You know, I don’t think I like Xavier Woods that much, but at least this was a little funny. Not a bad promo, but didn’t really give us much insight into the guy at all, which was a shame. Oh, except for the fact that he’s a Power Ranger, apparently.

Xavier Woods dances his way to the ring, whilst Brad Maddox calls him a nerd because he likes Power Rangers. Maddox really, really hates Woods, actually, who gets a spotlight when he enters the ring. I’ve never wanted Jake Carter to channel his inner Vader and just stiff the everloving hell out of someone as much as I do right now. The two lock up and Woods locks in a wristlock, wrenching the arm and forcing Carter to the mat. Baby Miz grasps the hair to break it, but Xavier comes back a shoulder block, and a head scissors followed by an armdrag into an armbar. Hate him as much as I do, the guy does have some talent. Carter pushes Woods into the corner to break the arm hold and lays some big blows to the midsection, just like his daddy. A neck snap only gets him a one count, and Tom Phillips reveals that Brad Maddox owes Xavier Woods twenty bucks for something, I don’t quite catch what it is but it sounds like ‘a ball-in-a-cup’ or something. Ha, Brad Maddox then says that Xavier Woods is a fan of The Big Bang Theory and so that should tell you everything you need to know about him. What, that he likes bad comedy based on nerd sterotypes? The momentum shifts to Woods as he counters a double axehandle off the second rope with a blow to the midsection, and a flying forearm followed up with a dropkick creates some separation. Xavier Woods…oh **** off. Just…**** off. He shouts ‘it’s morphing time’ in the corner, rolls across the ring and connects with a flying clothesline – the Honour Roll, it’s called. He connects with Eat Defeat, except he calls it Lost in the Woods – something I wish would happen to the guy – and that’s enough for the win. He dances like a goon in the ring and I can only echo Brad Maddox – who does he think he is, Emma?

Putting aside my utter hatred for the guy as a character because he’s basically the most annoying thing ever, Xavier Woods isn’t a slouch in the ring. I mean, we kind of know that, I guess, from his time in TNA. But seriously, this character is annoying as all hell and I really don’t get it. It’s stupid. And people will say the same thing about Emma, who I hated at first but grew to love – the difference is Emma’s endearing. Woods comes across as someone who is all in for himself, a bit too much ego. Maybe that’s the point, I don’t know, but he seems to love himself too much for me to really like him. Sigh. Baby Mizader is not as good as his daddy, is probably worse than his look-a-like, and…yeah, that’s about it. I mean, the match was OK, it’s just nothing special. Ho-hum.

Hey Renee Young! Sami Zayn! My favourite two people to have in a single segment in the World! Sami Zayn, as a polite man, asks Young how she is, Young returns the favour – it’s good to see two people interact like normal people would, right? It’s just…the two of them are so nice when they meet, it warms my heart. Zayn apologises for interrupting Young mid-question just as she says she was impressed by his win over Angelo Dawkins early tonight, but that he wasn’t out there to impress anyone – he wanted to send a message to his old friend Antonio Cesaro. See, Zayn didn’t take exception to being beaten by Cesaro last week, but he did mind being slapped around after the match. Cesaro, he says, is great in the ring, but they are locked at one a piece, and lays down the challenge for round 3. Yes. Please. It’s Antonio’s move. This was great, there was passion in Zayn’s eyes and the way he spoke, and he really put this over as a heated rivalry. I am thrilled at the possibility of their being a third round.

Oh, it’s Sylvester LeFort and D-Squared! These backstage segments are coming thick and fast before the main event. LeFort says that D-Squared are money and should be the number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Dusty Rhodes comes in and, of course, can’t understand the French man, but he puts together a number one contendership match for next week – D-Squared vs Graves and Ohno. As Rhodes backs out of the room he says he loves French wine and women. Fair enough. LeFort says he and D-Squared should now go and make some money. A pretty straightforward segment but one that got the job done pretty well and sets up the main event for next week.

Bo Dallas is the worst person currently employed by WWE. He shouts at a camera in car after just leaving the gym, is too busy to show up because he’s doing WWE live events and media stuff, but thanks everyone for their support on the internet. Hang on, the internet hates you Bo Dallas – have you ever been on the internet? He promises, to all his ‘Bo-lievers’ (urgh), that he will be back next week. And then sings Journey, but changes the word ‘believing’ to ‘Bo-lieving’. I sincerely hope you stub your toe severely on a weight machine tonight and it really, really hurts, Bo Dallas.

Wrestling! Graves and Ohno are referred to as ‘The Appallers’ by Brad Maddox on commentary – a team name that I really like, actually, so I’ll take it – and we’re going to start off with Graves squaring up to Luke Harper. They lock up, and Harper forces the smaller man back into the corner. Corey, though, dodges a clothesline and hits some body shots before locking in a side headlock. Harper powers him off back towards the corner, but Graves leaps over him as he charges in and hits a big punch to the face, before taking Harper to his teams corner and tagging out to Ohno. Harper immediately takes the former Chris Hero down, and tags out to his partner Rowan. Damn it, we always seem to get denied watching Ohno go up against Harper! One thing I want, NXT, just one thing! Ohno lays into the big ginger man, but Rowan overpowers him with a knee to the midsection. He whips him off the ropes, but Ohno actually spins over them onto the apron, showing some great agility, and hits a big boot between the top and middle rope before climbing back in. Lots of really quick action so far in this one, as Ohno hits a sweet low dropkick for a two count, before tagging out to Neville. The little man connects with some kicks to the hamstrings of Rowan, but he is soon overpowers and Bray Wyatt gets tagged in. The two go at it with fists, but Wyatt uses his larger frame and charges Neville into the corner. But out of a slingshot into the corner Neville blocks it in midair and instead comes down with a double stomp on the leader of the family! Lovely reversal there, showing just about everything that sums Neville up. Some big kicks to the chest now from the little Geordie, but he gets absolutely nothing from the referee and Wyatt finally decks him with a right hand and gets out of the ring, swapping places with Harper. The former Brodie Lee whips Neville across the ring but he ducks a clothesline once, twice and connects with a huge headscissors!

Neville uses the opportunity to tag out to Graves, he locks in a triangle choke around the ropes on Harper. For some reason, coming out of it, Graves tries to go after Wyatt himself and eats a big boot from Harper. The ref counts to two before Corey comes to his sense and kicks out. Harper throws Graves into the ropes and connects with a back elbow, again only enough for two, and the patriarch of the family gets tagged in. Wyatt takes it Graves, bouncing off the ropes and landing butt first on his chest. Graves fights out of a side headlock and avoids another attempted butt splash, which allows him to make the tag to Ohno on the apron. Kassius comes in with fists of fire, landing some on the newly tagged Rowan before hitting a huge running, flying lariat…and then Rowan reverses and Irish whip and Ohno gets sent out of the ring. Harper and Ohno meet on the outside, and it seems that Harper was tagged in as he’s now the legal man. Until he tag out to Bray Wyatt, who just walks over Kassius like he was a doormat. Ohno is being kept in the corner of The Wyatt Family, as was the case with Graves, exceptionally well, and Harper comes back in, dropping multiple elbows on his opponent before driving him back into his own corner. Terrific work by the whole Wyatt Family now, and Rowan holds Ohno back from getting the tag before hitting a pumphandle back breaker on Ohno. Another quick tag between the sons of the family, Harper now whips Ohno across the ring, but the two clash heads as Ohno blocks and both guys need a tag. Rowan gets to his corner first and gets Wyatt in, who charges across the ring to take out Graves, but Neville ducks his punch and gets the tag! He comes in like a house on fire with a springboard dropkick to Wyatt, and takes out Rowan too. A calf kick and a standing shooting star press to Bray Wyatt get a two count. Another dropkick sends Wyatt to the outside and Neville looks to soar…but Rowan stops him in his tracks. Ohno with a kick to Rowan from out of nowhere! Now Neville lands an over the top rope twisting moonsault! A big kick to the head of Bray Wyatt and Neville climbs the ropes…but Harper saves Bray Wyatt! Bray takes advantage of the winded Neville to steal the win!

Wowzers, what a match that was. Everybody got a chance to shine, Neville’s house on fire act never gets tired, Ohno looked might impressive, Graves looked good as a plucky brawler and The Wyatt Family got to look like absolute monsters and yet super intelligent courtesy of the way they cut the ring off and the ending of the match. You’d be hard pushed to find a better main event on TV this week, I think.

NXT MVP:

A bit of a tricky one this week, with no one person standing out above another on the undercard and the main event being absurdly great, so I’m going to take a cowardly approach:

Everybody in the Main Event!

All six people worked their absolute arses off to make that main event as good as it was, and not one of them deserves to be singled out as a star performer. I don’t think any of them impressed me more than the other, and it was an absolutely great match between the two teams.

There were two saving graces to this show – the main event, and Sami Zayn. The match at the end of the show was terrific, high octane stuff, not only showing The Wyatt Family off as a dominant force but also demonstrating their wrestling brains with the way they cut off the ring. Ohno and Neville looked particularly impressive for the face team, nailing their offence and really taking it to the heels. Graves didn’t quite seem as on his game as he has in the past, although equally he mostly just took a pasting from his opponents for the match, and was hardly seen for the last five minutes, so it could just be that he didn’t get a chance to make impression. Earlier on in the night, Sami Zayn picked up a good looking win against Angelo Dawkins, continuing his run of ‘underdog’ victories, and his promo with Renee Young was perfectly pitched as a challenge to Antonio Cesaro. The rest of the show? The opener was little more than a set up for the main event, really, and Woods vs Carter wasn’t my bag – I’m sure there will be people that like Woods, but he isn’t for me, and Carter has shown no reason to invest in him at all over his NXT appearances. Ah, I forgot Sasha Banks vs Summer Rae – whilst little more than a prolonged squash in favour of The First Lady of NXT, I did really enjoy the match, and her smack talking certainly adds a little something to her performance.

I guess, NXTians, that Bo Dallas is coming back next week with the NXT Championship, following his ‘promo’ from a car. Oh, they also announced that Big E Langston would be on the show as well tonight. Plus – the number one contenders match between D-Squared and The Appallers and my darling Emma will grace our screens again! What a stacked show! Join me here next week, same place, roughly the same time, and until then stay safe when crossing the road and drink more hot chocolate! Elveda!